Turnout reported high as America votes

Stocks advance on Election Day

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. voters on Tuesday finally got their say in the bitterly fought race for the White House between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, as the candidates wrapped up their campaigns with the finish line in sight.

Romney spent the day on a last-ditch campaign trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania, while Obama hunkered down in his home state of Illinois. Polls in key states suggested close races and the prospect of a long night of vote counting.

Reports from around the country pointed to high turnout. Turnout was “off the charts” at one polling station in Hartford County, Conn., according to election officials. By 10:30 a.m. at another polling place in the swing state of New Hampshire, about 350 people were already in line. And long lines formed across Northeast Ohio, as voting equipment was reportedly malfunctioning at some locations in Cuyahoga County. Read more about turnout on Political Watch blog.

Reuters

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden holds hands with a poll worker as he emerges from the voting booth after casting his ballot during the U.S. presidential election in Greenville, Delaware

Polls showed a race where the popular vote was very tight but with small leads for Obama in key swing states including Ohio and Virginia.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday afternoon, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing about 1% higher. See Market Snapshot.

Romney’s campaign rests on two hopes — one, of a last-minute surge to the challenger after four years of anemic job creation, and two, of a flawed methodology in swing-state polls that, in some eyes, gave too much weighting to Democrats who are unlikely to actually vote. Take the MarketWatch poll on what you'd like to see.

“Although there is the risk of a ‘Dewey beats Truman’ pronouncement, current probabilities favor President Obama winning the Electoral College, with a reduced Democrat majority in the Senate and a reduced Republican majority in the House,” said Paul Donovan of UBS in a note to clients. Read 10 things pollsters won't tell you.

Romney was taking to Ohio and Pennsylvania in a flurry of last-minute campaigning. Without Ohio, Romney would have a very difficult time capturing the presidency, while Pennsylvania has only recently been added to his campaign target list after polls showed a tightening in the Electoral College-rich Keystone State. Read guide on how to watch election night.

The former Massachusetts governor cast his ballot in Belmont, Mass., on Tuesday morning and told reporters he was feeling “very good, very good.”

Obama is staying in Chicago, where he visited a campaign field office on Tuesday morning, and later played a pick-up basketball game with friends.

The battle between Obama and Romney has been punctuated by debates over jobs growth, taxes and energy production as well as gaffes — from the president’s remark of “you didn’t build that” to the former Massachusetts governor being caught on tape suggesting 47% of the population mooch off the government.

That battle isn’t the only one to be determined Tuesday. Republicans look likely to retain control of the House of Representatives, while Democrats are expected to narrowly hold onto control of the Senate. Take a look at the costliest races.

Several state and local races also will be decided, as well as ballot measures on topics ranging from casinos in Maryland to tax measures in California, Arizona and Florida. Read about the main ballot initiatives.

For markets, the campaign won’t resolve the single biggest source of tension — the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of tax hikes and spending cuts that are due to be triggered unless a lame-duck Congress and Obama can figure out a compromise. Obama’s desire to raise upper-income tax rates, and Romney’s plan to reduce individual tax rates while closing a variety of unspecified loopholes also aren’t guaranteed to come to fruition no matter what transpires Tuesday.

“This election is unusual in that it will be immediately followed by debate on the fiscal cliff, and thus resolution of the election will reduce, but not eliminate, policy uncertainty,” said Alec Phillips of Goldman Sachs.

The general consensus is that a Romney victory would be better for stock markets, though fears that he’d nominate a more hawkish successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke could limit any appreciation seen in asset markets if the former Bain Capital executive were to emerge victorious. Read how to play a post-election stock market.

Turnout was also reportedly heavy in states including Massachusetts and Virginia. In New York City, a delay at a Manhattan YMCA caused Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s
GS, -1.03%
chief executive Lloyd Blankfein to leave before voting began, Reuters reported.

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